CUP: Store

Talking Trash: Throwing Out the Big Apple

City Studies

A Bet on Debt

In New York City, more than one in six adults – about 1 million people – have at least one student loan. Collectively, these New Yorkers owe $34.8 billion!

In the spring of 2019, CUP collaborated with Teaching Artist Elizabeth Peralta and Grace Beniquez’s internship class at the International Community High School (ICHS) in the Bronx to dig deep into the issue of student loan debt and its impact on students and their families. To investigate, students got out of the classroom to speak to community members, interviewed stakeholders working on the issue, and created art to visualize the potential pitfalls of student loans.

Students created this booklet to teach others what they learned and to help other students and their families navigate the complicated world of student loans and debt.